CVE-2025-14845 identifies a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the NS Ie Compatibility Fixer plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 2.1.5. The vulnerability stems from the absence of nonce validation during the plugin's settings update process. Nonces in WordPress are security tokens used to verify that requests originate from legitimate users and not from forged sources. Without this validation, an attacker can craft a malicious link or webpage that, when visited by an authenticated administrator, causes the plugin's settings to be altered without the administrator's consent. This attack vector requires user interaction (clicking a link) but does not require the attacker to be authenticated. The impact is limited to integrity, as the attacker can modify plugin settings but cannot directly compromise confidentiality or availability. No known exploits have been reported in the wild, and no official patches have been released at the time of this report. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352, which covers CSRF issues. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3, reflecting a network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, and limited impact on integrity only. This vulnerability highlights the importance of nonce validation in WordPress plugin development to prevent unauthorized state changes initiated by attackers leveraging authenticated users' privileges.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability depends largely on the prevalence of the NS Ie Compatibility Fixer plugin within their WordPress environments. If used, attackers could manipulate plugin settings, potentially altering site behavior or security configurations, which might lead to further exploitation or degraded site integrity. Although the vulnerability does not directly compromise data confidentiality or availability, unauthorized changes to plugin settings could introduce security weaknesses or disrupt site functionality. Organizations with high-value WordPress sites, especially those with administrators susceptible to phishing or social engineering, face increased risk. The attack requires user interaction, so targeted phishing campaigns could be used to exploit this vulnerability. Given the widespread use of WordPress in Europe, particularly in countries with large digital economies and many SMEs relying on WordPress, the threat could affect a significant number of sites if the plugin is in use. However, the absence of known exploits and the medium severity score suggest the immediate risk is moderate but warrants proactive mitigation.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigations: 1) Immediately audit WordPress installations to identify the presence of the NS Ie Compatibility Fixer plugin and determine the versions in use. 2) Restrict administrative access to trusted personnel and enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of compromised admin accounts being exploited via phishing. 3) Educate administrators about phishing risks and the dangers of clicking unsolicited links, especially when logged into WordPress admin panels. 4) Monitor plugin settings for unauthorized changes using file integrity monitoring or WordPress security plugins that track configuration modifications. 5) If possible, temporarily disable or remove the vulnerable plugin until a patch is released. 6) Follow vendor communications closely and apply security updates promptly once available. 7) Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules to detect and block suspicious CSRF attempts targeting the plugin's settings endpoints. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on administrative access controls, user awareness, and active monitoring tailored to this specific vulnerability.